The invention relates to an apparatus for drying animals, in particular horses, ponies or the like.
Animals, horses in particular, are often washed or showered. In particular horses used for sport have to be showered following the day""s training. Then, in order to avoid chills, pneumonia or similar ailments, the horses have-to be dried carefully. It is essential here for this drying operation to take place not just on the surface of the back or the sides, but also beneath the belly in particular, this constituting a problem area.
Drying methods which have been known up until now have involved first of all moisture being stripped off horses using scrapers (the surface water is thus removed) and then the horses being covered by a sweat blanket. The problem area of the belly is thus not reached. The abovementioned method of drying involves considerable outlay and effort and therefore usually takes place merely to an insufficient extent.
The object of the invention, then, is to provide an apparatus by means of which animals, in particular horses, ponies or the like, can be dried easily, reliably, cost-effectively and carefully in a short period of time.
An apparatus for achieving this object comprises a housing which has air-outlet openings on an underside and in which there are arranged at least one air-flow generator and at least one air-distributing means. Since a housing of the apparatus is provided with air-outlet openings on its underside, a compact apparatus is produced. This is because, in particular, the air-outlet openings may be an integral constituent part of the housing. Furthermore, the housing protects the air heaters arranged therein.
Moreover, the animals which are to be dried are protected from being influenced directly by the air heaters. At least one air-distribution means in the housing ensures that the hot air serving for drying purposes is distributed uniformly over all the air-outlet openings, which also results in the air passing out of the housing in a noise-free manner. It is important for the air to pass out in a noise-free manner in order that the animals do not develop a fear of drying and, instead, regard drying as a pleasant experience.
A further apparatus for achieving the object mentioned in the introduction comprises a housing, means arranged in the housing that are intended for generating an air stream, and air-outlet openings in an underside of the housing, air which passes out of the air-outlet openings forming, beneath the housing, a drying space for the animal which is to be arranged at least in part beneath the housing. By way of the drying space beneath the housing, in which the dry animal is arranged at least in part, the air serving for drying purposes reaches all the sides, to be precise even critical areas, of the animal without obstruction.
A preferred configuration of the invention provides for the or each air-distributing means to be arranged upstream of the air heaters, as seen in the flow direction. In this way, the air coming from the air-flow generators is guided past the air heaters in a uniformly distributed manner, as a result of which hot air passes out of the air-outlet openings in a uniformly distributed manner and at essentially the same temperature. This achieves uniform drying and, at the same time, prevents the situation where many areas of the animal which is to be dried in each case are dried with excessively cold air, which could lead to draughts and the animal suffering from ailments resulting therefrom. Uniform heating of the air makes it possible for the temperature of the hot air flowing out of the apparatus to be controlled reliably by a small number of temperature sensors or even just by one temperature sensor.
In the simplest case, the air-distributing means are designed as air-distributing plates which extend over all or some of the air heaters. The air-distributing plates have perforations for the through-passage of the air. The perforations are preferably formed for through-passage holes which are distributed uniformly over the surface of the air-distributing plates and have any desired cross section. The through-passage holes may be round, polygonal, oval or elliptical.
In a preferred configuration of the apparatus, the base wall of the housing is provided with different air-outlet openings. It is preferable for opposite longitudinal-border regions of the base wall of the housing to be provided with elongate air-outlet slits. It is sufficient if one air-outlet slit is provided in each of the two longitudinal-border regions of the base wall. The air-outlet slits generate, on opposite sides of the apparatus, sheet-like hot-air curtains which screen the hot air, in particular the hot air passing out of the air-outlet openings arranged between the air-outlet slits, from the ambient air, as a result of which it is possible for the animals to be dried from their back to their feet with hot air.
The air-outlet openings arranged in the region between the air-outlet slits of the base wall are preferably designed as air-outlet holes. The air-outlet holes are expediently distributed uniformly on the region of the base wall between the opposite air-outlet slits. The base wall of the housing is thus of sieve-like design between the elongate air-outlet slits. The air-outlet holes are dimensioned and spaced apart such that an essentially continuous veil of hot air passes out in the region of the air-outlet holes, that is to say between the elongate air-outlet slits, and fills the space between the lateral air curtains formed by the elongate air-outlet slits, with the result that the hot air can flow over the animal, from the apparatus, to the ground and the animal is dried completely in the process by a uniform hot-air stream. In this case, the hot air flows past the animal uniformly from top to bottom. Hot air which has accumulated moisture and has possibly been cooled can flow out via the air-curtain-free end sides of the drying space formed between the lateral air curtains.
In a preferred configuration of the invention, the air heaters are designed as convectors, to be precise plate convectors in particular. Such air heaters have proven successful in heating engineering. Plate convectors are suitable for use in the apparatus for drying animals, in particular, because their heat exchanger plates have a comparatively large surface area for heating the air flowing past it and, furthermore, the plates of the convectors help to even out and calm the air flow. It is preferably to provide a plurality of elongate plate convectors which are oriented parallel in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus and are arranged closely to one another without actually being in contact. This achieves uniform heating of the air over the entire region of the base wall of the apparatus. The base wall is located just beneath the adjacent convectors, as seen in the flow direction of the air, with the result that, once it has flowed past the convectors, the heated air can immediately flow up out of the apparatus without any significant energy losses.
The energy transfer medium (for example hot water) is fed to all the convectors via a common hot-water supply. For this purpose, in terms of flow, the convectors are arranged in parallel. However, it is also conceivable to provide a plurality of flow lines and thus for various groups of convectors arranged in parallel to be supplied with a heat transfer medium. For example, the convectors assigned to the elongate air-outlet slits may be assigned to a separate hot-water flow means, while the rest of the convectors, which are assigned to the air-outlet holes, may be supplied with heat energy jointly via a further hot-water flow means.
Cooled heat transfer medium is preferably discharged from the convectors in exactly the same way as hot heat transfer medium is fed. Further provision is made here for the supply to be assigned to a bottom half of the convectors, oriented towards the air-outlet openings, while the return is assigned to a top half of the convectors. This results in two-stage heating of the air, that is to say first of all preheating at the top, colder half of the convectors and then further heating at the bottom, hotter half of the convectors. The temperature difference between the air which is to be heated and the heat transfer medium in the convectors is evened out as a result, the top, cold air still being heated by the residual energy of the heat transfer medium in the convectors and better utilization of the heat energy of the heat transfer medium being achieved as a result.
It is conceivable for the convectors assigned to the air-outlet holes to be arranged wholly or in part in at least one chamber which forms surrounding upright side walls, connected to the base wall of the housing, around the convectors assigned to the air-outlet holes. This prevents air exchange with the convectors assigned to the lateral air-outlet slits, as a result of which the elongate air-outlet slits may be fed air, if appropriate, under a greater pressure in order to produce a more stable air curtain on opposite sides of the apparatus. In contrast, the air can pass out of the air-outlet openings at lower pressure, as a result of which this air, acting directly on the body of the animals, has a lower flow speed. This reliably avoids the situation where the animals are exposed to a draught.
Provision is further made for arranging one or preferably more air-flow generators, in particular fans, on or in the housing. The fans are preferably arranged on the top side of the housing, to be precise either within the same or outside on a top wall of the housing. Air taken in from the outside (cold air) is then fed directly into the housing by the fans. The number, size and power of the fans is adapted to the air pressure which is to produced in the interior of the housing and/or the speed at which the heated air serving for drying purposes flows out of the apparatus.
Alternatively, it is possible for the air-flow generators, in particular fans, to be arranged outside the housing, to be precise at a distance from the same. The air flow generated by the fans is then led into the housing via air-feed ducts such as pipes or tubes. This means that the fans may be placed in some other location, to be precise at such a distance away that only a very small amount of fan noise, if any at all, occurs in the region of the actual apparatus. The apparatus thus operates in a particularly noise-free manner, which means that the animals are not exposed to any significant noise development during drying. Such an apparatus is particularly suitable for frightened animals.
It is also conceivable to use other conventional air generators, for example compressors, in order to produce an air flow. On account of the fact that they develop more noise than fans, these compressors are always placed at a location remote from the apparatus, with the result that the air flow generated or else compressed air passes to the apparatus via a corresponding line system.
A preferred exemplary embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawing, in which: